Lesson 14 - “Things that Make for Peace” - Romans 14:14-23
ID: Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when, why, & how?”)
CR: Cross References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the clear.)
WS: Word Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other passages.)
The WORD: What does the Bible say?
1. Context: Review Romans 14:1-12, see how 14:13-15:3 develop those thoughts, and continue reading to the application in verses 15:5-6. Keep verse seven in the back of your mind as you finish this lesson.
2. CR: (13, 21) What is a stumbling block? (Leviticus 19:14; Isaiah 57:14; Ezekiel 3: 20; 7:19; Romans 11:9; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 8:9)
3. ID: (15) What does this verse teach us about what it means to “walk in love?” (compare with Ephesians 5:2) (Paul also dealt with a similar problem in 1 Corinthians 8-9.)
4. WS: (17) What does righteousness (dikaiosune), peace (eirene), and the joy (chara) in the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52; 1 Thessalonians 1:6) refer to in verse 17? How is that different from eating and drinking?
5. ID: Under what circumstances should we choose not to exercise our freedom? What should be the guiding principle in decisions of this kind?
6. (19) What does verse 19 say we should pursue? (v.17) What do we do (and not do) when we pursue them?
7. (20) How can food, wine, etc. tear down the work of God? (Is it possible to tear down the work of God with righteousness, peace, or joy mentioned in v. 17)
8. CR: (21) What does it mean to "cause your brother to stumble"? (v. 21; see 1 Corinthians 8:9-13)
The WALK: What should I do?
1. Can you think of rules your family had when you were growing up that you do not follow?
2. What are some examples of disputable matters to which the principles of this passage could be applied today? How should the convictions of others affect our behavior? Why?
3. If you are not sure whether something is right or wrong, should you do it? Why?
4. Are there any circumstances in which we should continue to exercise our freedom, even if it offends others? (see Gal. 4:8-11; 5:1; Col. 2:16-23)
5. Having sin be “relative” leaves much responsibility for sound judgment with each Christian. Will this make us more or less dependent on an active relationship with God? Explain.
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Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics with commentary by Norman L. Geisler
Article IV
WE AFFIRM that the Holy Spirit who inspired Scripture acts through it today to work faith in its message.
WE DENY that the Holy Spirit ever teaches to any one anything which is contrary to the teaching of Scripture.
Here stress is laid on the fact that the Holy Spirit not only is the source of Scripture, but also works to produce faith in Scripture He has inspired. Without this ministry of the Holy Spirit, belief in the truth of Scripture would not occur.
The Denial is directed at those alleged "revelations" which some claim to have but which are contrary to Scripture. No matter how sincere or genuinely felt, no dream, vision, or supposed revelation which contradicts Scripture ever comes from the Holy Spirit. For the utterances of the Holy Spirit are all harmonious and noncontradictory (see Article XX).
Article V
WE AFFIRM that the Holy Spirit enables believers to appropriate and apply Scripture to their lives.
WE DENY that the natural man is able to discern spiritually the biblical message apart from the Holy Spirit.
The design of this article is to indicate that the ministry of the Holy Spirit extends beyond the inspiration of Scripture to its very application to the lives of the believer. Just as no one calls Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:3), so no one can appropriate the message of Scripture to his life apart from the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.
The Denial stresses the truth that the natural man does not receive the spiritual message of Scripture. Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit there is no welcome for its truth in an unregenerate heart.
This does not imply that a non-Christian is unable to understand the meaning of any Scripture. It means that whatever he may perceive of the message of Scripture, that without the Holy Spirit's work he will not welcome the message in his heart.
Article VI
WE AFFIRM that the Bible expresses God's truth in propositional statements, and we declare that biblical truth is both objective and absolute. We further affirm that a statement is true if it represents matters as they actually are, but is an error if it misrepresents the facts.
WE DENY that, while Scripture is able to make us wise unto salvation, biblical truth should be defined in terms of this function. We further deny that error should be defined as that which willfully deceives.
Since hermeneutics is concerned with understanding the truth of Scripture, attention is directed here to the nature of truth. Several significant affirmations are made about the nature of truth.
First, in contrast to contemporary relativism it is declared that truth is absolute. Second, as opposed to subjectivism it is acknowledged that truth is objective. Finally, in opposition to existential and pragmatic views of truth, this article affirms that truth is what corresponds to reality. This same point was made in the "Chicago Statement on Inerrancy" (1978) in Article XIII and the commentary on it.
The Denial makes it evident that views which redefine an error to mean what "misleads," rather than what is a mistake, must be rejected. This redefinition of the word "error" is both contrary to Scripture and to common sense. In Scripture the word error is used of unintentional acts (Lev. 4:2) as well as intentional ones. Also, in common parlance a statement is in error if it is a factual mistake, even if there was no intention to mislead anyone by it. So to suggest that the Bible contains mistakes, but that these are not errors so long as they do not mislead, is contrary to both Scripture and ordinary usage.
By this subtle redefinition of error to mean only what misleads but not what misrepresents, some have tried to maintain that the Bible is wholly true (in that it never misleads) and yet that it may have some mistakes in it. This position is emphatically rejected by the confessors of this document.
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